Lethal Protectors
by OmegusXIII
Summary: In San Francisco, Amanda Greyson has volunteered to be a part of Drake's Symbiosis Project. However, as a result, she ended up bonding with a rare symbiote and becoming Spite. When she encounters Eddie Brock and Venom, the duo of symbiotes work together to stop Carlton Drake's plans. But little do they know that the real threat has yet to come...
1. An Average Day

**A/N: Hi, everyone. I just had an awesome time. Among my time off for a few days, I saw Avengers: Endgame! Though, I won't spoil much of it for you. And it inspired me to do a little bit of work on Venom to integrate him as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or M.C.U. for short. So, I decided to have it take place near the eve of the five-year anniversary of The Snap made by Thanos. For now, the next few chapters will focus on the events of Venom before getting to the Endgame with a few differences, mainly Carnage as the main villain for Eddie as it would give the two of them a better reason to get along while my OC will take on Riot as a personal vendetta. She will have her own symbiote in a platinum color named Spite. Both it and its host will be portrayed by Hayden Panettiere in this story. As for the cover art for it, it was difficult trying to get the venom side of it without removing the logo to affect the background. I know there's a lot of other stuff to do, but I'm exhausted enough as is. Other than that, I hope it turns out good. Keep in mind, though, the first few chapters may or may not be short.**

**Chapter 1: **An Average Day

**Entry #1**

First off, let me state for the record, this journal was my _secret_ property for a reason. Almost no one else could handle what I've gone through, what I am currently going through. If you think you can prove me wrong, go ahead and be my guest, but if you have a hint of doubt or fear, I suggest you stop reading. Rest assured, my story isn't some fairy tale. Because it's definitely not pretty.

My name is Amanda S. Greyson. I am 18 years old and I go to Horizon High. At least, I used to, considering I've graduated. Now I have a starter job in the Life Foundation. I work there as a scientist, naturally because of my "talents." But that's not even the most exciting part.

One day, we found a ship cargo of quite a few liquid matter of yellow, silver, dark blue, red, and black. Personally, I felt as though we actually found aliens from another planet, although I was ecstatic back then. My boss, Carlton Drake, decided we needed to get a better understanding of the samples. But I can't help but think it was strange how they seemed to be alive. Even more so was the fact that this liquid matter is alive.

I'm not joking, by the way. It was actually alive, in whatever form. In fact, every time I tapped on the glass, it'd scurry over to me, only to hit the glass wall, though in fairness, it wasn't really trying as hard. I thought it was playful and desperate for attention, almost like a little kid. It always made me wonder how something lighter than plastic could be stronger than steel. But there's still so much we don't know. So, until then, I thought it best to study it as much as possible.

* * *

**Entry #2**

Over the past 6 months now, Dr. Skirth, or Dora, and I found out that the symbiotes actually equalize the host, meaning it empowers them. So far, we had good luck, since we used rabbits. When Carlton decided to try human testing, I knew it must have been the rabbit's lucky foot, because the hosts that were human, well... let's just say they weren't that lucky. Almost immediately after the Symbiote got in, the subjects die. But the worst thing is, he didn't stop at one. He's still going at it. From that moment on, I wondered if this was going to be a normal day at the Life Foundation.

The next week, I had enough and tried to talked with Carlton about the symbiotes and knew this whole thing has to be stopped before anyone else dies.

"You saw what happened to that guy, Carlton. How is that supposed to help human evolution if no one survives it?"

"Well, that's what tests are for, Ms. Greyson. We'll never know if we stop now."

"And what good is evolution if humanity isn't around anymore?!"

Carlton only turned to look at me with a glare before controlling his temper as he replied coolly.

"So... are you willing to make the sacrifice, then?"

After seeing what they did to those people, I didn't want to be on their menu. So, I had to decline for now.

"No, Mr. Drake. Not yet."

"Then continue to bring in more subjects. These symbiotes need to live."

As he walked away, having his last word, I decided I wasn't going to let him have his way. Yet, at the same time, I grew worried. And not just for myself, but for those people, and the symbiotes. Sure, they paid the price, and I'm no more happy with that than Carlton, albeit for different reasons, but these symbiotes are just doing what they needed to do. But then, I remembered one thing in my life that sounds a bit cliched, but was always true. The needs of many always outweigh the needs of the few. And right now, as much as it pains me to say it, humanity's needs outweighed the symbiotes'.

Later that same day, I talked with Dora about how to stop Carlton from killing more people just for the sake of the symbiotes. Believe it or not, Dora was all in. She told me she knew someone that can stop him: a reporter that came in a few days earlier to try to expose him named Eddie Brock. That name grew familiar to me. For some reason, I pictured him as someone who got fired and extremely petty or vengeful. But, contrary to what I thought, Dora believed he was the one. I tried to suggest Peter Parker, but she told me he went missing about five years back. No one has seen him since the aliens came and he took off from the bus. But, how could that be possible?

Then, I remembered what happened shortly after they came that long ago. Literally half of the whole world, mothers, fathers, children, loners, widows, without explanation, just turned to dust, and instantly afterward, chaos happens. People were running like it was the end of the world. A week after that, once they determined it was no toxin breathed in from the air, no contamination, or any logical cause like that, they held funerals for those who were turned into dust and those who got killed in the chaos that resulted; we called them The Vanished. No one had any clue what happened. No one. I was lucky that I haven't lost myself or anyone in my family. Or was I? I never knew; no one did.

Anyway, I was to wait by the Symbiotes for when Eddie got there since Carlton assigned me for their studying and testing. As I waited, I decided to get to know the symbiotes a little bit before I come up with what to do once his operation goes down. Of all the symbiotes I chose to test on, I picked the silver one. It had my favorite color from when I was little up to this day. Although, I didn't want to risk being its meal, I still felt bad for these organisms. They're basically like evicted aliens, just doing what they had to do to survive. Of course, the hosts still earned my concerns because of how their families would be unable to cope with what we were doing to them. I couldn't cope with it, either.

Fortunately, yet also unluckily, I was only given one volunteer to handle it: a psychotic murderer, the Carnage Killer, named Cletus Kassady. As much bad as he did, I can't help but feel like I'm the true villain in doing this, but I never wanted to be. Like that ever mattered to Drake. As I looked at him when I pushed the button, the silver symbiote got released and made its way over to him. However, the most peculiar thing happened: it didn't go in the host (thank goodness), but instead, went straight for me and pressed itself on the glass. But the question was why? Before I pondered this, I heard a voice behind me.

"So, you're Amanda Greyson, huh?"

As I looked at him, I knew I recognized him.

"Oh. Eddie Brock, right? Dr. Skirth told me to wait for you."

As Eddie looked at me, I was practically anxious when he asked me a question.

"So, what work are you doing?"

"Uh, Drake told me we were doing a Symbiosis project."

"Well, where's the project? Unless that guy is the project."

When I looked behind me, I saw the symbiote wasn't on the wall anymore, nor was it anywhere in the room. I was hoping to show him the evidence, but it's gone. I was beginning to panic at this point.

"No, no, no! The symbiote is gone! Cletus, where is it?"

Unfortunately, he only gave me a smug look as he replied.

"Where's what?"

Ugh! Thanks for nothing! Then again, I should've expected that from a serial killer who had no idea what was going on to begin with. How is he supposed to get the pictures now? Then, I remembered what Drake told me about. He said something about using a hobo (his words, not mine) to test out one of the other symbiotes. If we could find her, Drake would go down for sure.

"It's okay. It's okay. There's more evidence over there. Please follow me."

With that, I showed him to the rest of the test subjects before I noticed that not even the rabbit and its symbiote survived. I guess the rabbits weren't lucky after all. But as Eddie took the pictures of the symbiotes and the aftermath, that's when the worst happened. When we stopped at the symbiote holding cell showing the subject, Eddie recognized her.

"Maria?"

I turned to him as he spoke.

"You know her?"

"Yeah, I stop by and usually catch up with her at night. Haven't seen her since..."

4 days. That's how long ago it was since he saw her. And we subjected her to this. As I felt the pain of guilt in my stomach, Maria noticed us and called for her visitor.

"Eddie! Get me out of here!"

As she did, Maria banged on the glass. I had no idea if she was being consumed from inside out or if she's becoming desperate. Either way, I didn't want another life on my hands. As I tried to open the door with a code, Eddie got the fire extinguisher and banged on the door. I didn't think it was ideal since I tried to get her out.

"Eddie, what are you doing?!"

"What else am I supposed to do?!"

Then, I remembered what I'm needed here for. If there's any chance that it backfires, I have to keep my job here for surveillance. Besides, the code didn't work anyway. Drake must've changed it before. So, I backed off and let him do his thing. But the moment he broke the glass, things went out of control.

The instant she got out, the alarm went off and Maria started throttling Eddie. As I watched it happen, I was becoming more scared than I ever was when I tried to get her off of him.

"Maria, stop! We're trying to help you!"

When I saw something black come from her, I realized something. The symbiote is trying to bond with Eddie. The moment it latched onto him, I tried to remove it and stop it before it could kill him. But when I pulled Maria off of Eddie and saw she wasn't moving, it was too late. The symbiote had already got inside him.

As he took off in a hurry, the guards that came down to check noticed him running away and out of the building. As for me, I was left tending to Maria, checking her vitals. As I did, I found out that she was... gone. Just like all the others. Another life taken by my hands. No... by Drake's hands. As I mourned her loss, knowing that somebody must've missed her, I could hear Cletus' laughter in the walls.

"What a night! I don't know what happened, but this is the most fun I've had in a lifetime! And I didn't even do anything yet!"

As Cletus laughed, I wanted to just barge in the room and shut him up. But then I remembered that it would only validate him by stooping to his level. So, I could only drown out the cruel voice with my sorrow as I sobbed, knowing that I had a chance to stop Drake and failed. So, with that, I was sent back to my apartment until the situation got resolved. At least, that's what I thought back then. The next day proved just how wrong I was.

* * *

**Entry #3**

The guards and staff actually found out that my designated symbiote escaped its hold and is who-knows-where. What's more, another symbiote is in the very person trying to shut Drake down. I don't know how long he could last until he kicks the bucket next. But that wasn't the main concern. Somehow, Drake found out that Dora and I had a hand in their escape. And judging from the call I got on my phone this morning, he had something planned for the both of us.

At the Life Foundation hall, the guards brought us to Drake themselves for security measures, something Drake considered necessary since the symbiotes' breakout. Honestly, I found it comforting since Cletus had been resigned there. But, on the flip side, that would mean he's gotten another symbiote already. A suspicion that was unfortunately proven true as I noticed the red symbiote wasn't in its canister. As I grew worried about either way it would play out, the guards spoke to Drake as Dora and I got to the labs.

"Sorry to interrupt. Thought you'd like some good news."

Dora then spoke up as she got scared of what will happen. I was just as nervous myself, but I can only imagine what she must be going through. Possibly the same thing I am.

"I'm sorry."

Drake could tell from the look on her face that she was. I don't know if that really mattered to him, though. He turned to one of his guards and spoke to him about what to do with me.

"Alright. Keep an eye on Ms. Greyson. I'll talk with Dr. Skirth."

As he brought Dora with him, I was scared out of my mind for her and I tried to speak up.

"Drake, wait."

Before I could go on, the guard stopped me from talking as he took his turn.

"Hold it right there, Ms. Greyson. Drake asked for Skirth. You're going to stay here."

Being forced to just watch how it all goes down, I grew worried about what he would do to Dora as they spoke.

"Amanda and I were troubled about what we've been doing."

"I get it. I get it. We've all been troubled. It's the nature of what we do. But I need you to tell me who was with you two. I need that from you."

I could tell how hesitant Dora was to answer as she held her breath before she spoke.

"I can't do that."

"We can't fix things unless we begin with... your friend. The person who was here, because they're gonna die. They're in grave danger. You know that, right?"

Of course we knew. That was the whole reason we did this. But if we tell him, we'll be in danger of that happening to us.

"They're gonna die unless we bring them back here. To keep them alive."

Keep who alive? The symbiotes, or the hosts? I wanted to ask him this if I were in Dora's position, but... I'm not. No matter how much I wanted to be, I'm not. Now, she's just... frozen up.

"Hey. Dora. I promise from here on in, we will do things differently. Will you trust me?"

I wouldn't. Although, that's all we ever wanted. Would he be true to that? Dora seemed to think that as she finally spoke.

"Eddie Brock."

Unfortunately, the answer wasn't what he'd hoped for.

"Eddie Brock?"

When she confirmed it with a nod, Drake's true colors showed up. Maybe it was because of his dislike for him peeking in anybody's business, but I somehow figured out he was lying.

"You were our best. Open it."

Then, I watched as the symbiote canister opened up, seeing it crawl out of the container as I felt my heart racing. I knew then what he was trying to do to us. He's trying to make us the test subjects. Dora grew scared out of her mind, too, but no more than I am right now. In fact, it didn't come even close.

"NO! Let her go!"

When I tried to get to her, the guard pulled on my arms, stopping me from helping her.

"You're not going anywhere."

As I tried to help her, the symbiote made its way to Dora as she screamed and tried to get to the door. But unfortunately, the symbiote was quicker and it tripped her before crawling up on her before it went inside. As this happened, I glared at Drake and wanted to punch him down. I probably would have if that guard wasn't holding me back. Maybe that was the point.

"LET HER GO, DANG IT!"

While I shouted at him, I was forced to watch as the symbiote ate Dora from the inside out before she convulsed and screamed before she finally stopped moving and the symbiote came out of it, leaving its corpse on the floor. And that was it. My best friend that I've known for my time here was gone. Just like that, my beliefs about being dragged to someone's level went out the window as I punched a guard in the face, forcing him to let go as I jumped on Drake and throttled him by the neck. I never thought of any words except how I really felt.

"I'm gonna kill you! Do you hear me, Drake?! Do you hear me?!"

Before I could do that, the guard grabbed me and shoved me into the same room as her before he closed the door as Drake felt his neck to make sure it wasn't out of place. I knew I should've gone for the jugular.

"Dr. Skirth made her sacrifice. Now it's your turn."

Now, I was in the same boat as her. I was going to be its next meal. I tried to break the door down, but in vain. By the time I realized that, it was already creeping up on my shoe. I screamed, naturally, because who'd want a parasite going up their legs? But that's not the main issue. Like a damsel in distress, a role I really didn't like but had no other choice to play, shouted for help to arrive. As it got around me, some help did come: the silver symbiote that escaped.

It suddenly latched onto my body and from the vent as it went all over me, too. I didn't know what to make of it. Who would? But as I saw the silver symbiote drive out its dark blue counterpart with a few thwacks and brace its retaliation, I realized something. They were fighting over their territory: me. Even Drake was surprised. As they fought, though, I was in agony. Worse yet, I had no idea where it was coming from. Fortunately, that didn't last long. In the end, the dark blue symbiote was tossed to a wall while the silver one went inside me. I didn't know if this was going to be good news or bad, since it is a parasite. But as soon as I thought it up, I heard it speak to me.

"_A parasite? I saved your life and this is how you repay me? With insults?"_

I didn't mean to call it that. But back then, I had no idea who the heck was speaking to me. I looked around at the group and saw that everyone was looking at me strangely as I spoke out to them.

"Who's talking to me right now? Any of you?"

As they shook their heads or gave looks that said I went crazy, I started to think that maybe I was. But the voice in my head told me otherwise.

"_You are not crazy. And they weren't talking to you."_

"Well, wherever you are, get out of my head! I'm far from being in a good mood right now!"

"_Like I care. Just get out of here."_

"Well, don't you think I've tried? I can't bust that door down."

"_Ugh. Never mind."_

Suddenly, beyond my control, I grew silver claws before extending them to the door and tearing it down as Drake, the scientists, and the guards grew surprised as I was in shock over what just happened.

"Well, I guess I can."

"_No, you really can't."_

Having seen what I just did, Drake spoke to his men.

"Well? Contain the specimen!"

It's official. Drake didn't really care about any of us. Only himself. No faith in humanity whatsoever. That was enough cue for me to bolt as I ran out the door. When the guards tried to get me, I suddenly grew silver tentacles on my sides that pushed them away. As I got in shock again, the voice in my head didn't want me to keep it waiting.

"_Well? Don't just stand there! Run!"_

Seeing as it seemed to be helping me, I just ran as far as I could. On the way, I heard a familiar voice laugh behind me as I ran. Cletus.

"Go on, doc! Run like your life depends on it! Because it does!"

His rancid laugh was unpleasant to hear for me, and I knew the voice in my head would agree.

"_His laugh is very annoying."_

"Yeah. Let's just move on."

With that, I got out the front door before I went in my car and I drove as far away from the Life Foundation as possible, not even thinking twice about looking back.


	2. Beginning of a Symbiotic Friendship

**A/N: Hello. Just a little warning to you. Since it is bound to get to the Endgame story soon, I've decided to add in the music from Infinity War to properly give out the emotion of a certain scene. It is also because I personally found Alan Silvestri's music to be very well-toned and powerful in various scenes. So, I'm telling you in advance so that you don't think Amanda was playing music while the scenes took place. Well, unless that does turn out to be what she is doing in written action... ;) I realize it is a bit shorter than the last one, but this is all I could come up with at the moment. Hopefully, the next chapter would be longer.**

**Chapter 2: **Beginning of a Symbiotic Relationship

**Entry #4**

As I drove in my car, having just seen my best friend killed, having the Life Foundation after me, and having a symbiote attached to me, all I wanted at the moment was to be safe in my apartment and never leave it. I didn't even care about what would happen around me anymore; I was too scared. I just wanted my life back. However, the voice in my head had different ideas.

"_Your apartment can't keep you safe forever, any more than you can get your life back."_

"I don't care, whoever's talking to me. I just want to go back home."

To be left alone.

"_I'm afraid that won't be possible."_

"And why the heck not?! I never asked for any of what happened to me! What am I even doing here?!"

Suddenly, I ended up running over a man in a motorcycle before he fell all over the street. As he did, I grew very worried about what I did. With all of my shouting and anger, I never paid attention to the road signs and I just about killed a man. Hasn't my life gone downhill already?

"_It'll get worse. Trust me."_

"Shut it."

But believe it or not, that voice was right. On one side of me, as the crowd grew very surprised at the events as I was, a car pulled up before one of Drake's guards got out and walked over to the man I just about ran over and knelt down. Was I being followed this whole time and I never knew? If he was tailgating me, I would've noticed. Maybe they had a method to keep track? That didn't matter at the moment. When I got a better look at him, I realized who it was.

"Oh, no... Eddie?"

As I began to worry about what happened, Eddie gripped the guard by his throat and the bones and flesh that were broken suddenly repaired themselves before he stood up and became consumed by a giant black creature with white eyes and jagged teeth as it spoke.

"**Eyes, lungs, pancreas... so many snacks, so little time."**

As this happened, I can tell that the other pedestrians were getting very nervous, having no idea what to make of what's going on. I had no idea either, other than the big honking thought that this must be the paras— I mean symbiote that went with Eddie that night. Regardless, I didn't know what to call it as far as names. But the voice in my head did.

"_That's __Venom__."_

"What?"

"_Venom__. My brother."_

As we talked further, Venom, which I assume to be the name of Eddie's symbiote, licked that guard's face as another one shot at him, but it didn't have any effect. Suddenly, he went down to him and literally chomped his head off. As this happened, the people began to scream seeing this, some of them even calling the police to help. As for me, I was too paralyzed to even think of it. With that, Venom took off from the crowd as the voice in my head reconsidered my previous idea.

"_On second thought, maybe your apartment is a good idea after all."_

"Sure. Now you agree with me."

* * *

The rest of the drive, neither of us said or thought anything until I went in and closed the door. After that, I felt strangely hungry for some reason. So, I dug in my pantry and got to a box of chocolate before I just chowed down on it. At that point, I thought it must've been stress-eating; I did just go through an attempt on my life. Anyway, after I had eaten all the chocolate I had, I grew tired and flopped on the bed.

"What is happening to me right now?"

"_More than you can ever manage to know."_

At this point, I couldn't handle the mystery anymore. I wanted answers. And I wanted them now.

"Enough with the guessing games, okay?! I want to know who I'm talking to and what's going on!"

"_Just look in the mirror."_

This only earned a sarcastic laugh from me as I didn't have time for jokes.

"Oh, hardy-har-har. Very funny."

"_I said, 'look in the mirror.' Now."_

Hearing the serious tone in its voice, I mentally retracted my sarcasm and went to the mirror in my bathroom before I noticed that I'm not seeing my face at all. What I saw was a silver being just like Venom except its eyes were dark platinum among the light silver skin and it had sharp teeth just like his, only they weren't nearly as long, about the size of regular teeth, but they were as sharp as ever. In panic, I tried to wash my face, convince myself that everything that happened this morning was all a nightmare and that I could wake up. But when I looked again, that image was still there, haunting me before it spoke to me.

"_Now you know who you're talking to."_

"No way..."

That's when it hit me. That thing was the same symbiote that saved me. And I called it a parasite in my mind. I was so ungrateful! I didn't want to risk provoking it anymore than I already have, so I quickly tried to apologize to it, not that it made any difference now as opposed to back then. At least then, it would have accepted my apology more quickly.

"I am so sorry about that parasite comment. I didn't mean to offend you like that."

"_Well, I guess I can't blame you for thinking that way, considering what you've seen."_

"Just tell me. Who, on Mother Earth, are you?"

"_I am Spite."_

Spite. Honestly, that sounds kinda cool. Sounds like something I came up with. When I was little, I tended to make up cool names for my personas. That's how I got the sense that it knew what I was thinking about as I spoke.

"You read my mind, didn't you?"

"_Hard not to. One of my kind's perks."_

"Alright. That's one item down on the list. Now, what's going on with me?"

"_What do you think? Symbiosis. You're_ _feeling the effects of it right now. Increased hunger, stress, a fit of shock, et cetera."_

"What?"

As I got confused about the effects, mostly because it was speaking too fast, I began to get worried for my life, remembering what I've seen the symbiotes do to their test subjects and Dora. Spite must've guessed how I was feeling about it as it spoke to me, because it's "hard not to."

"_And to answer your question of, 'how long do I have left to live,' you're not going to die anytime soon. I won't let you."_

Maybe it was the stressful day that I had, or maybe even all that chocolate I just ate, but I'm not in a trusting mood.

"Oh, good one. Is that what you told your other subjects before you ate them from the inside out?"

"_What other subjects? You're my first one."_

"The first?! Great! So I'm the first to die from Spite, then!"

"_I told you, I won't let you die."_

"How?! How am I supposed to trust that?!"

"_First off, if I wanted to eat you, I would have done it already. Second, if you die, I die. And third, as I said before, you're just going through shock."_

"Oh, you think?!"

"_Listen to me! The point is... I need you."_

Knowing for myself how these symbiotes operated, I can only assume why Spite needed me. I knew how long the symbiotes would last after getting out of the host before they ever find another one. And I'm glad I could help her on that, but I still wanted my old life back. To see... Dora. But then, Drake took them both away from me. All the same, I realized I strayed off the topic for what it needed me for as I spoke up.

"Yeah, maybe only until you find another host."

"_You don't understand. This is about more than just getting a host. It's about saving your world."_

When I heard this, I became confused. And I thought I like to get off-topic.

"What?"

"_You saw what Drake's doing to your people. And it's not just him we should worry about. There's a symbiote here that's been trying to get to you in search of a host to help get rid of humanity altogether."_

"Another symbiote? Wait. You mean the one that killed Dora and tried to take me over?"

"_Yes. He's called Riot. And he's also the commander of our kind."_

"Commander? You mean like a leader?"

"_No. I mean 'commander.' Our leader is... well, that's beside the point. Anyway, Riot was having us take over the hosts of people who didn't do anything wrong. Back then, I'm not really as docile as I am now."_

Remembering the effort Spite put in to breaking me out of the Life Foundation, I found it hard to believe. I mean, how could anything with claws and sharp teeth be docile?

"_I heard that."_

Having forgotten that the symbiote actually listened to my thoughts, I mentally corrected myself before I spoke to it.

"Sorry. Please, continue."

"_As I was saying, back then, I was just like the others. Angry, uncaring, hateful. That is, until I bonded with someone... someone offworld. It turned out, when I did that, her sense of right and wrong rubbed off on me. And it intrigued me. That's when I realized we were going on about this all wrong. Since then, I've been trying to resist Riot. But so far, he's been able to beat me at every turn."_

At that moment, I remembered how Spite went to me over Cletus. Then, I remembered how it took off into the vents and left me without proof, resulting in Venom being in Eddie.

"Yeah? Well, why did you—?"

"_Run into the vents? I was already weakened by Riot from our last encounter. Besides, I had to get my brother out somehow. I knew that by hiding, you'd go look for other evidence. I think you can guess who the evidence was."_

"Oh. Well, how did you know Drake would... try to kill us?"

"_I didn't. The cold air in the vents kept me alive without a host for however long it took, so I had to stay hidden. I didn't know how long I was in there. I wanted to get to you, but Riot was about to beat me to it. I couldn't let him get to you."_

As Spire explained this to me, I became very frustrated with it. If it was hiding in those vents the whole time, it could've come out to save Dora before Riot did away with her. It _should_ have.

"But you could let him get to Dora? She was my best friend, and you let him kill her! You could've tried to save her!"

"_I couldn't! I was weak back then!"_

"You should've made Dora your host instead of me! At least then, she'd still be alive!"

As I said that, tears were starting to leak out of my face like a fire hydrant. I was so upset over what happened that as I tried to speak, my words just drowned.

"She'd still be... she'd..."

_**Play Alan Silvestri Music: "Porch"**_

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I went to my bed before I started to sob at what happened to her. And it's even worse that my life as I knew it is over, which made me sob a little harder as Spite looked at me as its head poked out from my back, a sort of floating head that looked right at me and spoke.

"_I'm sorry I couldn't save Dora, Amanda. I really am. But we are the only ones who know what Drake and Riot are doing, and the only ones who can stop them. She would've wanted you to."_

As I heard this from the symbiote, I knew Spite was right, and that she didn't need to read my mind to know that. Dora would've given her life away to stop Drake anyway, not that I wanted her to. But so far, that's the best way to honor her as far as I'm concerned. As my sobs went away, I wiped my tears away before looking at the floating head in front of me. As freaked out as I was, I didn't care about that. After all, Spite did save me. And... I needed this closure.

With all the things that people have done, I could care less about the world. But I also didn't want any good people to die on my conscience. Then I'd be no better than Drake is. As if I'd ever be reduced to that. With that, Spite spoke to me again as its face drew closer to me.

"_So, do we have a deal?"_

For a moment, I held my answer to myself to consider my pros and cons. If I said yes to that, I'd end up on the run, but if I said no, I'd still be on the run. If o said yes, I'd do everything in my power to stop Drake at the cost of a normal life, but if I said no, I'd have my life back. I would've been stuck debating it if I didn't remember what Drake did to me. To Dora... As an answer, I held my tensing fists at bay before I took my breath and inquired it a question of my own.

"Where do we start?"

_**End Alan Silvestri Music: "Porch"**_


	3. Closure

**A/N: Hello. Now, this is where Amanda will meet Eddie again, and also where we get more in depth with his character. After all, he did lose his job, his relationship, and his apartment. He's mentioned it to Dora in the movie before, but I felt like that there should be more to why Eddie went along with Venom, or at the very least, it should be explained more. And we never did get a good look at Dr. Skirth's family to begin with, so I jumped the gun on that one. That's all I have to say for now. I hope you like it. **

**Chapter 3: **Closure

**Entry #5**

It was pretty clear where to start. Spite told me that we need to regroup with Venom and Eddie. With the evidence that Eddie managed to get, Drake would be all over him like stink on rice. But, by that logic, since I achieved symbiosis, Drake would be all over _me, _too. And that was more than enough reason to go along with it and find Venom. For the time being, at least. There was one flaw in Spite's plan that'd make it difficult, though: I didn't know where to look since I only knew about Eddie from Dora. So, I ended up talking verbally to my symbiote at the expense of my apparent sanity, looking like a crazy person to everyone around me.

"Uh, Spite? I know we need to find Venom and Eddie, but how are we supposed to find them?"

_We symbiotes have a link. When we get close enough to them, you'll know._

"Yeah? And how would I—?"

As an answer, I felt a strong sort of tingle in my spine, almost enough to give me a seizure. Maybe it was Spite's gooey essence flooding it, but I had a feeling I knew the answer as I heard her speaking to me.

_Take a right._

"Yeah, sure, but a little warning might've been nice."

_That tingle in your back is going to get stronger the closer we get to __Venom__. How's that for a warning?_

That warning didn't exactly sit well with me, even if it was what I asked. It was a cold comfort at best. But if it meant bringing Drake and Riot down, I wasn't exactly in any position to complain. The closest I could get to that was a sarcastic reply.

"Yay."

As I walked to my right, as Spite said, the tingle became stronger. As a result, my spine practically reverberated like a gong, which took some getting used to. With the directions I've been getting in advance, it seemed to go on forever, though it might've been the tingle making it feel longer than it was.

_Now take a left. Then a right. And another left._

"What are you, my mom?"

_No. I'm your GPS. Now take a left._

Knowing how hard it's going to be to keep walking at this pace, especially with my spine feeling like it's been jackhammered (it's a miracle I haven't collapsed yet), I gave a groan before I tried to suggest an alternative. I didn't want to spend my time walking when I could be doing something else.

"Can't we just climb on the walls, or maybe jump on rooftops to get there?"

_Out of the question. The point is to keep a low profile, the both of us._

"What's the point? Drake already knows we've bonded."

_But everyone else doesn't. And I prefer to keep it that way._

"Well, can you at least dial down the jackhammer? It's murder on my back."

_Oh, stop whining. You'll live._ _Take a left._

As I did, I wanted to vent my frustration, mostly because Spite was literally the closest one to yell at.

"Okay, I have had it! I'm sorry, but I really have had it! Just because we're on the same team, that doesn't give you the right to mess with my back, let alone give me directions when it's obvious that you have no idea—"

When I tried to, though, I took notice of a destination in front of me. It was a building of the network that dealt in serious stuff. At this point, I figured out what Eddie/Venom would be doing there.

"—where they are."

_You were saying?_

"Oh, shut it."

With the day I've had so far, including the craziness of what's going on between us right now, I really wasn't in the mood to talk. I just wanted to get this over with. In case Spite didn't notice, I'm still grieving over what happened to Dora. One would've thought that Spite would at least pick up on etiquette about this stuff. Not that I cared about it at the moment. Because as I rushed to the building, I saw Venom scaling the glass walls of the building, sending shards of it to the floor near me. And I wasn't too pleased about that as I turned to my partner-in-slime.

"Hey! Spite!"

_Say no more._

With that, Spite coated my entire body quickly with her silver skin before I noticed someone looking at me in a shocked fit of surprise before Spite spoke to him.

"**What are you looking at?"**

Not even bothering to wait for an answer, Spite jumped up onto the glass walls. However, instead of clawing at the glass like Venom, I was— no. _We _were running up on it. Excited as I was, I still felt that person might complicate things for us.

"_Did you really just let him see you?"_

"**Hey, you're the one who told me to go up there."**

"_I didn't know he was standing right there!"_

"**Not much we could do about that now. Except maybe prepare for what's about to go down."**

As Spite suggested it, we heard a loud noise zooming just above us before we actually felt a painful part of our symbiosis: whatever Spite felt, I felt, too. And it hurt like you wouldn't believe. As we quivered at the noise for a moment, we were able to keep it together long enough to see Eddie falling off of the building sans Venom and I grew concerned.

"_Eddie!"_

"**I got this."**

With that, we went up faster on the wall and leaped up at him before grabbing him while we maintained our grip on the building's glass somehow. At that moment, Spite used the opportunity to shove Eddie through a glass window before we jumped through it next and Spite went away so that I could reappear in her place as me. Once that happened, Eddie looked at me in disbelief as he spoke.

"No way. Amanda?"

"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out."

As I helped Eddie up, he must've remembered who sent him to me that night, because he had such a nerve to speak about her after what's happened.

"What happened to Dr. Skirth? I thought she was with you."

Not wanting to dwell on it any longer than I have been these past few hours, I made it blunt and short so that we could move on.

"Didn't you figure that out, Eddie? She's dead."

"What?"

As I heard the tone in his voice, I could tell Eddie was surprised to hear this. I couldn't figure out why, though, as I proceeded to explain it to him.

"Drake killed her with one of the symbiotes. He found out what we did. That means he won't stop until we're back at his lab either as his guinea pigs, or as sacrifices."

As I spoke this news to him, I noticed that Eddie was beginning to feel a little upset as I spoke to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything. Especially _that_ word. I've made enough sacrifices for a lifetime."

Figuring Eddie was just wallowing in his self-pity, I scoffed at him and tried to prove to him how hard _I've _had it these past few hours.

"I'm sure you did. But I didn't just lose my friend tonight. I lost a mother."

When I said that, Eddie became confused and spoke to me curiously.

"Wait, wait, wait. She's your mother?"

"What? No. She's not my— no. Dora was a mother to three children. Two boys and one girl. And she had... such an amazing husband who'd passed away two months ago. These kids don't have their mother anymore. And it's because of _him_."

"Oh, really? Well, boohoo for them."

"Shut up! Do you even know what it's like to watch someone you cared about be _eaten alive _right in front of you?! DO YOU?!"

When no answer came from him, only a stunned look for a moment before I spoke.

"Of course you don't. You don't know what it's like to have anything like that taken from you. And you never will."

As I turned my back on him, leaving the words hanging in the air, Eddie was becoming angry enough to prove me wrong as he spoke behind me, causing me to turn back to him as he'd just finished writing a note to warn him about the evidence.

"You don't think I know about that?"

"Excuse me?"

"_You _don't think_ I _know about that?! I tried to speak out against Drake once, tried to bust him for what he's done to those people, and just like that, I lost my apartment, my job, my fiance, ALL OF IT! He took away _everything _that was important to me! EVERYTHING! And yet, here I am. So don't you go thinking that just because you lost your best friend, you get to dump all that crap on me, okay?! _This _is my one chance to get my revenge on Drake, to get closure, and if you got a problem with that, you're more than welcome to leave. Because from now on, I'm looking out for _me, _and _only _me!"

As Eddie's own words were hung in the air, I was surprised. I always thought Eddie was someone petty or vengeful, but I never expected _that. _I guess he did know what it was like to mouth all that off to me without Venom. Didn't he have at lest one person to care about? Whatever the case, it must've been personal. And apparently, Spite was digging that.

_I like him._

As the silence persisted, Eddie spoke to me again, wanting to know if I'm out. But it's not like I work for him.

"Well?"

Surprised by his waxing off the chest (a figure of speech), I didn't know what else to say except...

"I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Well, now you know."

With that, Eddie headed towards the window but stopped short for a moment before he shook his head and spoke.

"You know what? I'll just, uh, take the elevator. It's safer."

As he did that, Spite quickly lost interest as she spoke.

_Sissy._

I, however, didn't. With what he's told me, I started thinking that we could use each other's help, after all. Granted, I didn't think it worth the risk to tag along with those two after seeing that guy get his head chopped off, but now... now I saw it's a risk worth taking. Acting on that, I went to him as I spoke.

"I'll go down with you. I could've jumped off, but... I think we got off on the wrong foot. You don't... mind, do you?"

"Oh, nah. No, it's fine. Come in."

As I did, Spite did not hesitate to vent her dislike for the situation.

_Are you for real?_

"Yes, Spite. If we're going to work together, we might as well get to know each other. You don't have to put up with it; you can just hide in my, uh... temple until I say otherwise, okay? It's just between me and him."

_Alright. But make it quick._

As I went inside before the doors closed, we just went down the incredible height of stairs as I sighed before Eddie did. I'm surprised he didn't look at me like I was crazy because it did seem that way for a while, but with how Spite saved Eddie not too long ago, I guess he knew who I was really talking to. Truth was, I didn't have enough time to come up with what to say prior to this moment. It's a good thing Eddie did.

"Hey, uh... I'm sorry about her kids. I didn't mean to take it that way. I'm just... having a hard time dealing with all this, that's all."

"It's okay. I'm having a hard time myself. And it's... pretty self-explanatory."

"So... you're doing it for revenge, too?"

"I guess. But... I think it's more like, uh... closure."

"Closure? You mean, like what I said back there?"

"Yeah. Drake didn't just ruin your life; he ruined mine, too. Again, self-explanatory. Dora died trying to protect this world. To protect her family. Seeing this through will help me get the closure I need. And maybe... that way, I'll know Dora would be happy, wherever she died to."

"Ah. I get it. So, what are you gonna do to make it happen?"

"Well, I have to break the news to them first, make sure they're okay. And then... me and Spite are going after Drake."

"Spite?"

"She's my symbiote. And, believe it or not, she's Venom's sister."

Hearing of that, Eddie became intrigued as he nodded with a look on his face that said it was good to know.

"Huh. Interesting."

At that moment, the elevator doors opened before we got out. After that, we noticed several S.W.A.T. officers trained on us. Wait. S.W.A.T. officers?

"Freeze!"

Crap! It must've been that guy who saw Spite. He probably called them here. When I see that guy again, I have some choice words for him. At the moment, though, I don't think we'll get around to that. I raised my hands in defeat, but then I noticed a red symbiote just above them. I knew who it was and I tried to point their attention to him as it crept closer to them from above.

"Uh, guys, listen. You need to look up."

"We said, 'freeze!' Don't move!"

"No, seriously! Look up!"

As luck would have it, one of them took my advice and noticed that symbiote. Unfortunately, it wasn't in time as that symbiote suddenly dropped to the policeman and swallowed him whole as his mouth was practically as wide as an anaconda's. That symbiote must've gotten a good chunk of the ground, too, because it left a huge dent in the floor as half of the officers trained their weapons on the symbiote as it stood up before it started calling Eddie out.

"**Don't you want to play with us, daddy?"**

That's him. It has to be Cletus. That voice, that psychotic demeanor, and that laugh. It is him! As I tried to process this, Eddie spoke up suddenly as he put his arms down.

"Mask!"

With that, Venom emerged in his place so suddenly before it spoke.

"**Copy."**

With that, the officers panicked and opened fire on Venom, but to no avail as the bullets didn't seem to have any effect on him. Is he a bulletproof vest or something? Regardless, they started shooting gas grenades at us, only for Venom to catch it and break it apart, making a mist go between us and them before they fired another gas grenade at us. Venom dealt with it just as swiftly as the first one as he bit down into it and shielded our presence from them completely. With that out of the way, Venom turned to me and spoke.

"**Go! Find Dora's family and warn them!"**

"What about you?"

"**We can take care of this ourselves. Now go!"**

Left with no other choice, given the opportunity, I had to. With the cover off me for the moment, now would be a good time to find Dora's family and keep them safe as I needed my symbiote's help.

"Spite! I need you!"

_I know. I heard everything. I'll get you there as quick as I can._

"What? But I thought you had a plan."

_I did. But you heard __Venom__. He can take care of himself._ _Besides, I liked yours better._

"My plan? What are you—? Oh, wait. You've been listening to us, haven't you?"

_Maybe._

As I couldn't help but grunt at this moment of invasion of privacy, at the same time, I couldn't help but be grateful. That means we're on the same side. Although, I wondered what Spite's plan was from the beginning...


	4. The Message

**A/N: Hello. :) Sorry for the hiatus. But I had to wait a while before Avengers Endgame is released in stores before then. And even afterward, I had to look up some Absolute Carnage comics for where to take the story after Endgame. As a result, I ended up getting Dora's family more personified from a few characters based on the Absolute Carnage comics. And I think you'll be surprised about where this is going... And I'll have you know, I mostly created this story to depict her and Venom's role in Avengers: Endgame as I interpret it, but I feel it weird not to give Amanda and Spite at least a bit of background in this beforehand, so bear with me if it feels a bit rushed. Also, the rating is subject to change from T to M, depending on where it goes and what content would pop up to trigger that change. Beyond that, enjoy.**

**Chapter 4: **The Message

**Entry #6**

Things were going downhill fast, the rate things were going. Since Cletus ambushed us at the building, all I could do was run and never look back. I knew Drake would be after us, but I didn't expect him to actually turn a psychotic killer loose. Then again, considering that Cletus had that red symbiote on him, I should've counted on that. But what really boggled me was how that crazy psychopath found us. Was he tracking us somehow, the way we tracked Venom? And why did he call Venom his "daddy?" I thought Spite would have an answer, but as I caught my breath in an alleyway where I felt nobody could hear me, what I got for an answer was another thing I didn't see coming.

"What... in the world... was that?!"

_He's called Carnage. And more than that, he's... my nephew._

"What?! You're related to that psycho?!"

_Unfortunately. Carnage is actually my brother's spawn. __Venom__ replicated some time before we got on Earth._

This was news to me for sure. I assumed that they were aliens that were hatched in a sort of egg, or some other. But, as it turned out, I really don't know anything about Symbiotes. I hoped Spite would understand that when I asked her how they procreated.

"Replicated? Wait. Symbiotes can actually get pregnant?"

_Symbiotes don't work like that. We don't actually have a designated gender between us._

"So, you really could've been anything?"

_Basically, yes._

Talk about mind-boggling. But it was hardly the main issue at the moment. For me, right now, it was the fact that Venom's son literally swallowed a man whole. Like father, like son, I guess. But Spite knew better than that.

_But that's beside the point. I know you're concerned about what Carnage just did, and you should be. Unlike his father, Carnage kills for the fun_ _of it. He isn't tied down by rationality, or any sanity clause. That's what makes him so dangerous._

And that's why it chose Cletus. The two of them must be more than compatible with each other. They're practically soulmates. Normally, I'd be all over that, but with these two, I'd make an exception.

"Great. So we've got Drake _and _Kassady to worry about."

_And Riot, assuming he survived. And trust me, it's very likely that he has._

"I thought that other symbiote was long gone by now? Who else could've been... oh, right. Drake must've got to him to try and save Riot."

_And considering that Carnage is on the loose, it's safe to assume he's not dead, either._

Great. This is turning out to be the worst night of my life. I'm on the run from two killers that are after me. One of them kills for no fricking reason, and another is killing because he thinks it's necessary. Just like when he killed... Dora. Oh, crap! I almost forgot about her family!

"Well, what are we doing here, then?! We need to find Dora's family and warn them!"

_I agree. But we need to hurry, or Riot will use them next._

That idea made me curious. What would he even use them for?

_If __Venom__ could replicate, odds are, Riot will, too. And when he does, he'll need more guinea pigs to house them and make up for the numbers that went away._

Right. Of course. Anything Drake wanted is nothing but bad, that much I knew. Especially since the result of what he wanted was burned in my head with Dora's broken body lying on the floor.

"Don't remind me..."

* * *

Since then, Spite and I have been merged again, this time going for my earlier rooftop approach (finally!) to get to Dora's house. It's a good thing she told me about how to get there while she was still around. Back then, she wanted me to look after her kids when she had too much work on her hands, and the same case would go for her husband in that problem. I mean, I had my own life, sure, but Dora's done a lot of work for what she felt was right for Earth back then, so I owed her that. And boy, did she have a family.

Her late husband, Taylor Skirth, was married to her for 14 years. And her children were quite a handful for me, but all in all, they were cool kids, considering two of them were adopted. Dora's biological son, Dylan, a boy with dark blonde hair and a grey jacket (now I realized he looks a lot like Eddie) was about 13 years old. When I wasn't around, he'd always look after his adopted siblings, Sadie (a young girl with yellow hair) and Billy (a boy with raven-colored hair). Sadie is ten years old, and her brother is six. Turns out, they have quite a story. It actually took place just a bit before and right as "The Vanishing" happened.

Sadie and Billy actually came from another family who lived in Colorado. Their parents used to love each other, but when things got bad for them, they started pointing fingers at each other. In the process, they were hurting their kids. They weren't listening to a word they had to say... If you ask me, "The Vanishing" actually did them a favor. At least now, they didn't have to put up with those jackasses, if you'll excuse the language here. But how would they feel about losing their family again? I didn't have an answer for that, not even when I landed in front of their yard, and Spite could tell it was eating me alive.

"**You're not sure how to tell them, are you?"**

"_What do you think?"_

Considering that she's rooted around my head again, I felt like Spite should know the answer by now. Of course, she did, but she also knew they wouldn't take too lightly to seeing me— us, like this.

"**I think I'll let you take it from here."**

The way Spite scurried back inside me, it sounded like she felt awkward about finding out the things that she did. But why did she? Did she not care about what it means to me? Or was it because she didn't know how to process it? Either way, it might be for the best for now.

"Okay. But, I'll need you if anything happens, got it?"

_Understood._

Truth was, I still needed Spite for support, like she supported me when I was broken down. What happened a few moments ago was a cinch to me. For me, the hardest part is trying to tell those kids what happened to their mom. Did they even know about what happened, or did they just assume she's had to stay longer for work? Either way, it's no small task to come clean about this kind of thing. And I just knew that I'd hate every moment of it.

I tried to reach my hand out to knock on the door, but I was hesitating. For all they knew, they could've been expecting me to look after them before their mom could come back. But if they find out, who knows what'll happen to them? I didn't want to think about it, but sooner or later, they had to face reality. It'd be cruel to hide it from them, more so than what Drake did to her. So, I finally knocked on the door and tried to see if anyone was awake.

"Dylan? Sadie? Billy? It's me, Amanda. I need to talk to you."

I was hoping that one of the three would come to the door and open it. But... nobody came to the door. And as the silence dragged on, it started to be... upsetting. Could they have known about what happened to her? I wanted to check again to be sure.

"Guys? Are you there?"

Again, I received no answer. I couldn't tell what was behind that door, but if they were there, they must be upset.

"At least talk to me..."

That was the third time around, and still, no answer came. I couldn't help but get worried for the three of them. And somehow, Spite already knew something was sketchy.

_They're not here._

"How do you know that?"

_I looked through the windows. There's nobody there._

The windows? How come I didn't look there? Maybe it's because I was still wallowing in grief about what I should've done...

_You should really stop that, by the way. It's obviously not going to help anyone._

Leave it to Spite to be do blunt about it. But she did have a point.

"I'm sorry. You're right. We need to investigate and see what's going on."

Following that instinct, I tried to open the door, but unfortunately, it was locked. Even worse, with what happened to me, I forgot about the key to their house. Luckily, Spite had an idea to remedy that.

_I got this._

Right about then, my arm started sprouting a small, silver tentacle that went inside the lock and turned the mechanism until it clicked. After that, it went back inside my skin as I checked to see if what Spite did actually worked. Sure enough, when the door opened, it did.

_You're welcome._

I had to hand it to her, it was convenient. But the important thing was this investigation. As I looked around the place, it seemed pretty normal to me, at least from the hallway to the stairs in front of me. The kids must've gone to bed early. Wait... when did they ever go to bed early? They never did that when I came over, or at all for that matter. Although, there could be a first time for everything. I had to be sure it was before I assume anything.

"Dylan? Sadie? Billy? Are you here?"

When I received no answer again, I had no choice but to keep walking to verify the situation myself. As I got closer, I turned my head to the right and saw a TV left on as snow patterns were the only thing on the screen. And not just that, but the main thing was that the living room looked like a beast got into this place. The curtains were torn to shreds, the couch was split open some, and to top it off, a tape was just left on the table that said "Play Me." That's the best Drake came up with? Honestly, I thought he'd be a little more advanced than that. As far as break-ins go, this was, by far, the most bizarre, almost like something straight out of a horror movie. Either way, it's the only clue to find out what happened to them, so far. But with what's happened in here... did I even want to?

_I'm not sure I like this situation at all._

"I know. Me neither."

Despite it, though, we have to know what happened, and this tape could be our only answer. So, I had to push the tape inside the VCR below the TV. Dora and her family would always use it to play videos about their family and their lives when they were little. It was always sweet to watch with the others... but now, this might be the one time I regret playing anything on a VHS tape. As soon as it came on, Drake showed up on the screen, most likely at the Life Foundation building.

"_Hello, Ms. Greyson. I see you've found the tape I left behind for you. I know what you're thinking. 'Isn't Carlton Drake more advanced than this?' Well, believe it or not, you could actually learn a thing or two from the past to make the future happen. Like 'the Vanishing' for instance. Since then, I realized two things. One, every religion that thought there was another existence outside our physical, that we are reincarnated into another being? All of it... is just a load of bull crap. There was no god to save half of the world from disappearing to thin air. Those that do despite it... they're all idiots! And that's an existence I can't put up with anymore!"_

If you can't put up with that, then why are you still around, you son of a— snitch, I guess? I wanted to curse something worse, but I was raised too well, for one thing. Another reason was that it'd be pretty ridiculous to just curse at a prerecorded message.

"_Which brings us to number two. In general, as far as existence, humanity was stagnant, dying from the beginning. The sad truth of it is, we deny that any of it happened because we prefer to not live in that squalid lifestyle. We don't adapt to that truth, and believe it or not, it kills us_. _And it happens every single day._ _But, I found a way to fix that. See, I wasn't lying when I said human and symbiote together are the future. When you think about it, the proof is everywhere. You're the proof. Brock's the proof. Kassady's the proof..."_

What else was new? I found out about that last part not too long ago. I'll at least give him a point about that. But he wasn't done talking. Suddenly, to finish his sentence, his whole body suddenly became swallowed up by a dark blue substance, showing the same jagged eyes as Spite and Venom, but with a wider mouth and shorter length of teeth that were just as sharp. The whole image of that horrified me. Because that was the one who tried to bond with me: Riot.

"_**And I'm the proof."**_

Suddenly, Riot took the camera with his one hand and lifted it up above him as he spoke with me. Of course, it was a prerecorded message, but it's safe to say he knew about me.

"_**Like it or not, that proof won't end with me. My children will be that proof, too. One way, or the other..."**_

To emphasize his point, Riot moved aside to show the lab where Dora's body once laid. But it wasn't the rush of haunting memories that terrified me: it was what was within that lab. There were three jars that held a green symbiote, a purple one, and an orange one. How could they be there? Where did they come from?

_Riot must've replicated himself and kept them safe in those pods. But for who?_

Unfortunately, I found my answer. Adjacent to those pods were the people I was trying to tell the truth about: Dylan, Sadie, and Billy. They're both trapped, strapped to hospital beds, waiting for the Symbiotes to take them... How could I let this happen...? Why didn't I get to them sooner...?!

"_**Drake told me you wouldn't want their bonding on your conscience. So, I have an offer to make. Bring me my offspring, Spite..."**_

What? His offspring...?

"_**...and I will let them go free. But if you don't... they will tear your friends apart from the inside. Make your choice."**_

Instantly, the camera cut to snow. Good news was, I finally found out where they were. Bad news, I found out they were in Riot's clutches. Even worse, I found out that Spite was lying to me... She was using me this whole time. How could I be so stupid?

_Amanda, I can explain—_

"Was that why you took me to the news building? To distract me from getting to Dora's family, while your father took them?"

_It wasn't my plan, Amanda._

"Then what was?! You told me that you needed me to save the world, but what good is that if I can't even save the people who mattered to me?! I had that chance after what happened, but I didn't take it! And it's all your fault!"

_My fault?_

That worried tone was something I didn't expect from Spite. It almost sounded... sad. Not that I cared back then. I was too angry at her to think on it.

"If you just bonded with Dora to save her, she wouldn't have died, and her family wouldn't be captured! I promised her that I'd look after them and keep them safe, but by now, it's too late to do anything! So, yeah! It _is _your fault!"

The instant I said those words, I felt something jolt me to the floor. Not long after, Spite started to come out of my skin as the same floating head that tried to comfort me back on my apartment. But now, Spite looked way past that point to even try with me this time.

"_You honestly think I wanted this to happen?! I tried to help as soon as I could in that lab when I heard her scream! I admit I should've been better, but there wasn't anything even I could do to stop it, just like I couldn't stop him from brainwashing my kind! Why do you think I tried to resist him so much?! Riot may have replicated me, BUT HE IS NEVER MY FATHER!"_

If I didn't see that hurt before, I'm definitely seeing it now. I've never seen Spite this angry, or hurt, for that matter. It may be because I had no idea how Symbiotes were typically raised, but still...

"_He took everything away from me, too... and there was nothing I could do. Nothing..."_

As far as emotions, Spite really knew how to surprise me. Because she did the one thing I never knew Symbiotes could do: she cried. Honestly, it sounded more like a light sob underwater, but I could tell she was upset. It must've been hard for her to resist her father for so long... Whoever that offworlder was who helped her realize the truth, I should thank her for making sure Spite was on my side. I didn't quite know how to comfort her, so the best I came up with was to hold her floating head with my hands.

"Spite... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. I was just... I'm scared. I just lost my best friend, and now, I'm going to lose her family. And I have... absolutely no clue how to handle any of it. So I took that out on you. And I'm sorry..."

Fortunately, it seemed like Spite got the message as she made a light smile with a thin spread from her gooey likeness.

"_I know. And I know you know about my rooting in your head about it. I just wanted to hear you say it for real."_

Yep. That's Spite for you. At least she's becoming more considerate in rooting around my head. But we had bigger fish to fry at the moment. And there are people who needed us.

"Okay, let's review. Riot is your father, and he wants you turned in, or they'll be used as hosts. Think we should trust him?"

"_Not likely. He's a team player, so he's going to take care of his offspring the way he thinks is best: using your friends as hosts._ _And if we don't go, he'll do so anyway."_

This was a conundrum for us. So far, Riot sent that message to me and Spite. But Drake would've needed to go after Venom, too. Most likely, he would've sent his men for that. Knowing him, though, Venom could take them, tops. Unless...

"Spite, how long can you stay, you know... host-less?"

"_About two hours at the least. Maybe more in cold vents. Why?"_

"Have you ever heard about breaking and entering?"

**A/N: So, what did you think of the characters so far? I know in the comics Dylan was actually Eddie's son, though he was told he was his younger brother, but since Anne and Eddie didn't exactly procreate yet, I had to introduce him in some other way. Though, if you still prefer that to be the case in this story, I'll see what I can do to make that happen. And if it does happen to be rated M in the future, it may be according to the inevitable violence that either Carnage or Thanos could wreak, or to a lower extent, some sensual moments. Hope you understand.**


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